Bubble blowing machine



March 6, 1956 Filed May 17, 1952 N. A. FISHER BUBBLE BLOWING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 57 3 maentor,

(Ittorneg March 6, 1956 s E 2,736,989

BUBBLE BLOWING MACHINE Filed May 17, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 z? 24 96 6 #73 25 y 5- f a? f0 W (Ittomeg United States Patent BUBBLE BLOWING MACHINE Norman Anthony Fisher, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application May 17, 1952, Serial No. 288,482

15 Claims. (Cl..46--8) This invention relates to the art of blowing bubbles, and the general object of the invention is to provide a means or a' machine for controlling the size and quantity of bubbles.

A more particular object is to provide a machine of.

the character stated, which is simple in construction, practical in operation, and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter as this specification progresses.

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, formation, construction, association, and relative arranger rnent of parts, members and features, all as shown in one embodiment in the accompanying drawings, described generally, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective of my invention,

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of my invention,

Figure 3 is a horizontal section of my invention taken on the line 33 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section of my invention taken on line 44 of Figure 1, with certain parts of the invention shown in one position,

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view like Figure 4, but with said parts referred to in Figure 4 shown in another position than that shown in Figure 4, and,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section of .a' detail of. construction of my invention taken on line 66 of Figure 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 designates a casing, in which are mounted two spaced air blowers 2 and 3; a motor 4 mounted between and upon said. air blowers by flexible mountings 5 and 6, respectively; a duct 7 leading upwardly from the upper end of said blower 2 and forwardly into the rear end of a flexible coupling 8; a metal coupling 9 over the rear end of which is fitted the forward end of said flexible coupling 8; and a reduced tubular outlet or nozzle 10 slidably fitted in the forward end portion of said metal coupling 9, which tubular outlet 10 is adjustably secured in said metal coupling by a set screw 11, and the forward outer end of said tubular outlet is formed with an external flange 12; a pin wheel 13; and a clock motor 14 for driving said pin wheel 13, which pin wheel comprises a vertical hub 15, formed with a socket 16 in its lower end, and with four horizontal pins 17 extending radially from the upper end of said hub, and which clock'motor 14 includes a drive spindle 18, upstanding from said motor into the socket 16 in the lower end of the pin wheel hub 15, which hub is secured on said spindle by a set screw 19, threaded radially into the lower end of said hub against said spindle 16, and said clock motor being mounted in the upper part of the casing 1 on a bracket 20 secured to the inner side of said casing by screws 21.

The casing 1 is formed with a ledge 22 in the upper forward part thereof, below the uppermost wall 23 of 2,736,989 Patented Mar. 6, 1956 said casing, which wall 23 extends rearwardly from. a

point 24 above the rear edge of said ledge 22, and forms a rear upper compartment 25 in the casing 1, in which are located the outlet duct 7 of blower 2, and the outlet connections leading from said duct, and the clock motor spindle 18 and pin wheel 13.

The casing 1 is constructed with a bottom wall 26, a front vertical wall 27, two side walls 28, and a rear wall 29, the upper wall 23 of the upper rear compartment 25, and a ledge cover formed with a horizontal ledge wall 31 and a vertical front wall 32 of said upper rear compartment 25, which front wall 32 is bent and extends upwardly vertically from the rear edge of said horizontal ledge wall 31 which rests upon the ledge edges. 33 of the side walls 28 of the casing 1. t

The air blower 2 is suspended in the casing 1 (see Figure 4), slightly above the bottom wall 26 thereof, from the rear wall 29 of said casing by means of screws 34 extended through said rear wall and threaded in the rear wall 35 of said air blower 2, while the air blower 3' is suspended in the casing 1 slightly above the bottom wall 26 thereof from the front wall 27 of said casing by means of screws 36 extended through said casing front wall and threaded to the front wall 37 of said air blower.

In the rear wall 35 of the blower 2- is provided an airinlet opening 38, which registers with an air-inlet opening 39 in the rear wall 29" of the casing 1, which air-inlet openings are covered by a'screen 40 interposed between said rear wall of the air-blower 2 and the rear wall of the casing. 1, and said air-inlet openings 39 and 38 in the rear walls 29 and 35, respectively, of said casing 1 and said air-blower 2, are controlled by a damper plate 41 slidable onthe outer rear side of the casingrearwall 29 in the lower and upper guides 42 and 43, respectively, secured to the outer rear side of said rear casing wall 29.

In the front wall 27 of the casing 1 is provided an airinlet opening 44, which registers with an air-inlet opening in the front wall 37 of the air-blower 3, and a screen is interposed between said front walls of said casing and said blower, over said air-inlet openings 44 and, 45 in said front walls, respectively, which screen. 46 issecured to the inner side of said front wall. of said casing. The upper end of the air-blower 3 is provided with an air outlet 47 covered by a screen 48, which screen rests directly under the horizontal ledge wall. 31 and an air-outlet opening 49- in said ledge wall.

A slidable damper plate controls the draft of air upwardly from. the upper end of the air blower 3 through the screen 48 and. airoutlet opening 49 inthe ledge wall 31,. whichdamper plate 50 is slidably mounted at its side edges in a pair, of side. edge guides 51, secured on the upper side of the ledge wall 31 and extending rearwardly a short distance from the front edge of said ledge wall.

A small narrow base plate 52 is secured to the upper side of theledge wall. 31, transversely thereof, by means of the screws 21 which extend upwardly through the clock-motor, supporting bracket 20, through said ledge wall 31, and through the ends, respectively, ofsaid base plate 52, whereby'said clock-motor bracket 20- and said base pltae 52 are detachably secured by said screws 21 to the lower side and to the upper side, respectively, of said ledge wall 31, which forms that part of the upper wall of the casing 1 which rests upon the'upper ledge edges 33 of the side walls 28 of said casing andv covers the forward part of said casing. The forward side edge 53 of the base plate 52, resting upon the upperside of the ledge wall 31, coincideswith the rear edge 54 of the outlet opening 49 in the ledge wall 31, and a fixed deflector plate 55 is inclined upwardly and forwardly from, said forward side edge 53' of said base plate 52, in the manner and for the purpose hereinafter more fully described. ,A

rearwardly and upwardly inclined adjustable deflecting guide plate 56 is formed at its ends, respectively, with a pair of downwardly and forwardly inclined arms 57, from the lower edges of which arms are formed a pair of forwardly extending base flanges 58, respectively, which flanges are provided with a pair of slots 59 extending in a direction transversely of said guide plate to receive adjusting and securing screws 60, respectively, for adjusting said guide plate 56 forwardly or rearwardly on the ledge wall and for securing said guide plate in its properly adjusted position. The guide plate 56 is placed above and across the slide damper plate 50 and its side edge guides 51, with said guide arms 57 and base flanges 58 of said guide plate resting upon the adjacent outer side edges of the side edge guides 51 of the slide damper plate 58, and the adjusting and securing screws 60 extended through the base flange slots 59 and threaded into the ledge wall 31, with the heads of said screws 61) engaging the upper sur face of said base flanges 58 and holding said flanges upon the upper side of said ledge wall 31, with the guide plate 56 in its properly adjusted position for blowing bubbles, in the manner hereinafter more fully described. Upon loosening the adjusting and securing screws 6%), the guide plate 56 may be adjusted forwardly or backwardly on the ledge wall 31 with the rear upper edge 61 of said guide plate further away from or closer to the upper edge 62 of the rear fixed deflector plate 55, for adjusting the quantity, size and direction of movement of bubbles produced by my invention, in the manner hereinafter more fuly described. The rear upper edge 61 of the inclined forward adjustable guide plate 56 is slightly higher than the forward upper edge 62 of the inclined fixed deflector plate 55, to insure that a straight upward draft of air passes upwardly from the air blower 3 through the screen 48, valve opening 49, and through the space 63 between the rear upper edge 61 of the forward guide plate 56 and the forward upper edge 62 of the fixed deflector plate 55.

A pair of vertical guides 64, which are U-shaped in horizontal section, and are formed at their lower ends with horizontal base flanges 65, are mounted with said flanges resting upon the upper side of the end portions, respectively, of the base plate 52, with said 'flanges threaded on the upper ends of the screws 21, which extend through and above the base plate 52. The side members 66 and 67 of the U-shaped guides 64 extend inwardly from their intermediate connecting members 68, facing toward each other with said intermediate members 68 at the outer sides of said vertical guides 64 to receive a narrow receptacle 69, rectangular in horizontal section, for containing a bubble-making liquid 70, said receptacle 69 being fitted in said guides 64 with its end walls 71 fited against the inner sides of the intermediate connecting members 68 of said guides, and its front and rear walls 72 and 73 fitted against the front members 66 and rear members 67 of the vertical guides 64, respectively, with the bottom wall 74 of the receptacle resting upon the base plate 52. The upper edges 75 and 76 of the front walls 72 and rear walls 73 of the receptacle 69 are V-shaped, with the inverted apexes of upper edges 75 and 76 terminating in notch bearings 77 and 78, respectively, at the center of the receptacle 69, midway between its end walls 71, in which notch bearings, rests and is journaled a horizontal spindle 79, extending across the receptacle 69, through said notch bearings to the outer sides of the front and rear walls 72 and 73 of the receptacle 69. On the rear end of the spindle 79 is secured a pin wheel 80 comprising a hub 81 and four pins 82 extending radially from said hub, equidistant apart in a vertical plane, and in position to be engaged successively by the pins 17 of the pin wheel for rotating the pin wheel 80 and the spindle 79. The hub 81 of the pin wheel 80 is secured on the spindle 79 adjacent the outer side of the rear wall '73 of the receptacle 69 while a conical collar 83 is secured on said spindle inside of the receptacle 69, with the base of said collar adjacent the inner side of the rear wall 73 of the receptacle 69, so that the hub 81 of the pin wheel will engage the outer side of the rear wall 73 of the receptacle 69, while the base of the conical collar 83 will engage the inner side of the rear wall 73 to prevent longitudinal movement of the spindle 79 in its bearings and in the receptacle 69. On the spindle 79 in the receptacle 69 is secured a disc 84, provided with a plurality of spaced openings 85, described in a circle from the center of said disc, so that in rotating said disc, the openings 85 will be brought successively in axial alignment with the reduced tubular outlet 10 forwardly of said outlet, the axis extending through said outlet and an opening 85 in said disc extending above the V-shaped upper edges 75 and 76 of the front and rear walls 72, and 73, respectively, of the receptacle 69, and the lower part of the disc 84 depending into the bubble liquid 70 in the lower part of the receptacle 69.

The rear vertical wall 32 of the ledge cover 30 forms the front wall of the upper rear compartment 25 of the casing 1 and said wall 32 is formed at its upper edge with an inturned, rearwardly extending flange 86, provided with a notch 87, and the forward end portion of the upper wall 23 rests upon said flange 86 of said wall 32 and is also formed with a notch 88 in its forward edge in register with the notch 87 in the flange 86 of the wall 32, through which notches 87 and 88 extend the set screw 11 to the outside of the casing to provide ready access to said set screw.

An adjusting plate 89 is adjustably vertically positioned at its lower portion 90, adjacent the front side of the vertical wall 32 of the ledge cover 30, and between two plates 91 and 92 secured to the front face of said wall 32 by two thumb screws 93 and 94, said plates being formed with inner vertical edges 95 and 96 against which edges, vertical side edges 97 and 98 of the lower portion of the plate 89 may slide, to effect such vertical adjustment of said plate. The thumb screws 93 and 94 are threaded in the front wall 32 of the upper rear compartment 25, so that the head 99 of screw 93 will extend over and engage the plate 91 and the lower portion 90 of the plate 89, adjacent the engaging vertical edges and 97 of said plate 91 and lower portion 90 of plate 89, and the head 100 of thumb screw 94 will extend over and engage the plate 92 and the lower portion 90 of plate 89, adjacent their engaging vertical edges 96 and 98, for securing the plate 89 in any of its vertically adjusted positions. The reduced tubular outlet 10 extends through the vertically adjustable plate 89 in close fitting relation therewith, so that the axis of said tubular outlet 10 may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly with relation to the axes of the bubble outlet opening 85 in their uppermost positions in the wheel 84, whereby air may be forced upwardly or downwardly at an inclination from said tubular outlet 10 through the uppermost outlet opening 85 in the wheel 84 into the soap film covering said opening, forming a string of bubbles which will be directed into the atmosphere at the same upwardly or downward inclination of the air between the tubular outlet 10 and the coaxial uppermost opening in the wheel 84. The external flange 12 on the front end of the tubular outlet 10 fits against the front face of the adjusting plate 89. The front wall 32 of the upper rear compartment 25 is provided with an opening 101, and the adjusting plate 89 is provided with an opening 102, through which openings the pins 17 of the pin wheel 13 may rotate, for engaging the pins 82 of the pin wheel 80 for rotating said pin wheel 80.

On the upper wall 23 of the upper rear compartment 25 is mounted a capped feeder can 103 for a bubble blowing liquid, from the lower part of which container leads a flexible rubber hose 184, which leads forwardly through a notch 105, in an edge of the adjusting plate 89, and then through a notch 186 in the upper edge of one of the end walls 71 of the receptacle 69 into said can down to the predetermined level of the bubble blowing liquid in said receptacle 6?, for maintaining a predetermined level of liquid therein.

The operation, uses and advantages of the invention just described are as follows:

This machine is particularly adaptable for display purposes such as for use in skating rinks, above or near signs, and in fact in any location where it is desired to produce bubbles and attract attention. The machine is capable of producing bubbles of any size through the simple expedient of changing the diameter of nozzle 10, through which an air blast is directed. As is self-evident, the smaller the diameter of the hole in the nozzle the smaller the bubbles and the more produced as air is passed therethrough under pressure. Assuming that the motor 4 is in operation, the two blowers at 2 and 3 will direct air therefrom, the blower 2 passing the air through the tube 7 and through nozzle 10, while the blower 3 directs air in regulated amounts upwardly between the inclined guide plates 55 and 56, under regulation by a slide plate damper 41. External air is received by theblowers through the screens shown at 46 and 46 to assure cleanliness and safety and the degree of blast from the blower 2 is regulated by the plate damper 41. The disc 84, within the receptacle 69, is driven by the clock motor shown at 14. The said disc is mounted upon a shaft which is timed as to its rotation by means of the pin-type gears 13 and 80. The receptacle is filled with bubble-producing liquid 70 and maintained at a given level therein from bubble liquid within feeder can 163. The timed sequence for rotation of the disc 84 is such that each opening 85 therein is positioned in axial alignment with the bore in nozzle 11 and when air under regulated amounts is directed through said nozzle it in turn is directed through one of the openings 85 of said disc to produce bubbles. These bubbles may be directed straight outwardly or upwardly and this is regulated by the damper plate 50 wherein the air is passed between the opposite edges 62 and 61 of the inclined flanges or plates 55 and 56. The degree of draft being regulated, the height to which the bubbles will rise is under the direct control of the operator.

The feeder can 163 is mounted upon the wall 23 and as a consequence, is above the receptacle 69. Therefore, the feeder can is made air tight in any suitable manner, and whereby liquid in said feeder can will feed continuously into said receptacle 69 to maintain the liquid at a constant level therein.

The electrical wiring between the motors 4 and 14 is conventional of form, as is likewise the switch for either closing or opening the electrical circuit to a source of electrical energy and no particular wiring diagram is therefore shown.

Several features of the invention are important; one consists in the plate 89, which in addition to being useful for advertising purposes or pictorial purposes, performs the function of preventing a back draft. In other words, air in back of the plate 89 will have no effect upon the production of bubbles when air is directed under pressure through the nozzle 10 and through an opening 85 in the disc 84.

A second feature of the invention is the adjustability of plate 56 relative to the fixed plate 5'5. It is essential that the space 63 through which air is passed from blower 3 be of a certain size, otherwise the bubbles blown from the holes of the disc 84 are not controlled properly as to direction of movement outwardly of said disc. It has been found that the space 63, when a proper size, will, when the damper 50 is moved, control the direction of movement of the bubbles from the disc so that said bubbles may be directed substantially horizontally or at an inclination to horizontal. In addition, control of the draft through the slot 63 will assist in bubble formation in that such an upward draft creates a vacuum forwardly of the disc and aids in the formation of bubbles from the openings in said disc. It is very important that the disc move in a step sequence so that when the bubbles.

have been exhausted from an opening thatthe disc then move quite quickly and stop, as it must be remembered that air is at all times being directed upwardly from blower 2' through the nozzle 10 rearwardly of said disc. If the disc moves slowly and continuously without any interruption of its movement, satisfactory bubbles would not be produced.

I claim:

1. In a bubble blowing machine, a receptacle for containing bubble-producing liquid, a spindle mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, a vertical disc secured on said spindle with its lower portion extending through said liquid in said receptacle, said disc being provided with a plurality of openings spaced apart and at equal distances from the center of said disc, with the openings in the lower part of the disc located in said liquid in said receptacle and the openings in the upper part of said disc located above said liquid, means for rotating said spindle intermittently to bring the openings in. the disc successively into uppermost position with a dwell period at such location, an air blower, an outlet duct leading from said air blower, a nozzle located rearwardly of and in registry with an upper opening in said disc, means connecting the rear end of said nozzle to said air duct, whereby air is blown from said air blower through. said air duct, nozzle and said upper opening in said disc, and against the bubble,

liquid film extending over said opening, for blowing bubbles forwardly from said upper opening.

2. A bubble blowing machine as claimed in claim 1, means for directing a stream of air upwardly against said bubbles after the bubbles are blown through the said upper opening in said rotating disc, said means including relatively movable members for changing at will the cross section and the direction of flow of the air.

3. in a bubble blowingmachine as claimed in claim 1, in which the means for rotating the bubble disc spindle comprises a driven pin wheel secured on the spindle of said bubble disc, a driving pin wheel, meshing with the driven pin wheel, and a motor for rotating said driving pin wheel, the spacing of the pins on the driving pin wheel providing that the disc remains stationary between pin contact, and the number of pins on the driven pin wheel is the same as the number of openings in the disc.

4. In a bubble blowing machine as claimed in claim 2, in which two of the relatively movable members have oppositely directed surfaces each at an acute angle to horizontal with parallel upper edges, and another of said relatively movable members is a horizontally positioned slide and in which the means for directing air upwardly includes a second blower discharging air through said relatively movable members.

5. In a bubble producing machine a casing, a pair of lowers within said casing, a nozzle in direct communication with one of said blowers, said casing formed with an air outlet leading from the second of said blowers to discharge air to cross the path of air from the nozzle, a slide damper for controlling the flow of air from said second blower outlet, a receptacle for bubble producing liquid, a disc provided with spaced openings vertically positioned partly in and partly outside of the bubble producing liquid in said receptacle with at least one of the openings outside of the liquid located in the path of air from the nozzle, and means for intermittently rotating the disc.

6. A bubble blowing machine including a receptacle for bubble producing liquid, a disc for rotation with a portion of the disc immersed in the liquid within said receptacle, said disc provided with an annular series of spaced openings, a blower, a valve controlling air intake to said blower, a nozzle in communication with the outlet from said blower, said nozzle being positioned on one side of said disc and in coaxial alignment with an opening in the disc, a second blower, the outlet from which is positioned forwardly of said disc; adjustable means for diverting the greases path of air from the second blower either nearer to or farther from the disc thereby to alter the course of the bubbles blown from the disc by air from said nozzle, and a valve for controlling the volume of air discharged from the second blower, whereby to alter the speed of travel of the bubbles after they enter said path of air from the second blower.

7. The device set forth in claim 6, characterized in the provision of means for intermittently rotating said disc to position each opening therein forwardly of said nozzle, to remain in such position between movements of the disc.

8. The device set forth in claim 1, characterized in that means is provided for adjustably positioning the axis of said nozzle relative to the axis of an opening in said disc.

9. A bubble blowing machine including a rotatable spindle, a disc on said spindle having a circularly arranged series of spaced openings, means for rotating the spindle, means for forming a film of bubble producing liquid across said openings, a vertically positioned shiftable adjusting plate, a nozzle carried by said plate for delivering air under pressure to the openings in the disc, and means for securing the plate in any one of a plurality of nozzle positions including one in which the nozzle is coaxial with the axis of the proximate opening, whereby the direction of travel of the bubbles as they leave the disc openings may be varied at will.

10. The machine of claim 9 in which the plate is a back draft protecting plate of a width and height equal to a plurality of times the diameter of the disc and carries the nozzle about centrally of the plate.

11. A bubble blowing machine including a spindle, a disc on said spindle having a circularly arranged series of spaced openings, means for rotating the spindle, means for supplying a film of bubble producing liquid to close said openings, a nozzle for delivering air under pressure, means for positioning the nozzle to direct air successively thru the openings, and means for directing a wide, thin stream of air upwardly to cross the path of the bubbles as they leave the disc, the last mentioned means including a deflector plate and, a relatively movable deflecting guide plate to determine the thickness of the air stream, and to to the top from a point proximate to the edge of the slide plate when closed, a deflecting guide plate rising at an acute angle to the top from a point proximate the edge of the slide plate when open, said acute angles being oppositely directed so the upper edges of the deflector plate and of the guide plate are proximate, forming a narrow opening between them.

13. The combination of claim 12 in which at least two of the plates are adjustable.

14. The combination of claim 12 in which the deflector plate is fixed in place on the casing and entirely covers the width of the opening, the deflecting guide plate straddles the slide plate and is adjustable to and from the deflecter plate and the edge of the guide plate is slightly higher above the top of the casing than is the top edge of the fixed deflector plate.

15. A bubble blowing machine including a rotatable disc having a circularly arranged series of spaced openings,

means for rotating the disc, means whereby a film of bubble producing liquid is formed across the openings as the disc is rotated, a nozzle for directing air to cross the path of the openings to blow the air through the openings in succession thereby to form bubbles, and means for supplying air under pressure to said nozzle, said disc rotating means moving the disc in step by step fashion to bring each opening into registry with the nozzle with a dwell period at such registry position.

2,452,794 Saachy Nov. 2, 1948 Anderson Apr. 18, 1939 

